State Comptroller’s Office reviews proposed 2019 budget
TROY, N.Y. >> The New York State Comptroller’s Office released its review of the City of Troy’s 2019 proposed 2019 budget.
According to the review, the revenue and expenditure projections as reasonable. The review also cites the City’s proposed real property tax levy being in compliance with its tax levy limit.
Yet, the report also states the City Council has not yet approved of fees needed to reach estimated revenues in the newly established refuse fund for solid waste management and bulk refuse collection fees. The assessment also deemed the necessary to finance the City’s solid waste and recycling collection and disposal (waste and recycling) ser- vices.
“At this point and time we’re relatively comf or t able with those type of projections because we have a contract that’s tied in for a few years,”
Mayor Patrick Madden said when asked about the trend of a lack of a global demand for recyclables creating a hardship on other municipalities. “We’ve accounted for our recycling responsibilities in the budget, we’re not concerned about that,” Madden added.
City Council President Carmella Mantello, lauded the efforts of the Mayor’s office and City Council’s ability to foster greater accountability of finance reports.
However, Mantello is still not keen on the proposed garbage fee, something she calls, “a double tax.”
“The big white elephant right now in the proposed 2019 budget is to make this garbage fee a permanent fee and not just to make it permanent, they’re increasing it to $164 with a fee that was sup- posed to be temporary and sunsets at the end of the year,” Mantello said. “So, next year you’re looking at $4 million in new revenues that is totally on the back of taxpayers.
“I feel very strongly about this. I fought against it last year. Es-
sentially you’re looking at if that $4 million dollars was translated to a tax increase, it would be a 20 percent tax increase on the backs of taxpayers.”
Mantello also argued for alternative revenue streams, such as relocating city hall, shared services with Rensselaer County, a public safety fee on nonprofits and higher education and LED lighting.
On the matter of purchasing equipment and vehicles, the assessment states the financing will be done through issuing debt.
“When you look at equipment purchases that were noted in the letter there’s two ways to purchase those or you can borrow money to purchase
them like you or I would do if you were buying a new car,” Madden said of the city’s approach of buying new equipment.
“We’ve chosen to go the bonding route because the cash needed to buy them outright is not something that the city can afford at this time without a significant tax increase so we’re trying to avoid that.”
“That said, when a municipality purchases capital equipment with bonds funds, the term of the bond is regulated,” Madden added. “It’s not as though we’re getting under water with our borrowing here, we’re borrowing to pay for vehicles but the borrowing is over the expected lifetime of the vehicles which is relatively short in a municipal operation because the vehicles do get a lot of use.”
Conversely, Mantello ar-
gued against the bonding.
“Every time you bond, you are kicking the can down the road because obviously it has to be paid for future years and in the long run you’re going to put it on the backs of future generations of taxpayers,” Mantello said.
On the whole, Madden appeared pleased with the OSC’s assessment.
“The key to our budgeting philosophy is to make sure that our revenue and expense projections are rooted in a sound factual basis,” Madden said. “We’ve done that for each of our three budgets.
“It’s based on data and the conclusions are supported by that data, so it’s not wishes it’s not dreams but it’s facts, so that’s our approach to budgeting and I think it has served the city extremely well these past three years.”